Sunday Mass Reflections

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Monday, 15 August 2016 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White (Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate the great Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, honouring that moment when Mary, the mother of God, was bodily assumed or brought up directly to the presence of God in heaven, in glorious reward for the faith that she had exhibited and professed her whole life, and for her special role as the Bearer of the Saviour of the world.

Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant, as she bore within her the New Covenant in Jesus Christ that He has established anew with us. And so sacred is the Holy Ark that is Mary, exemplary in her faith and commitment to God, that God would not want her to suffer the pain of death, which is the consequence for sin. For she was conceived and prepared into the world without sin, and then throughout her life, she had obeyed and followed the Lord in all of His plans for the world and for all mankind, and thus, she deserved that glory which her Son had prepared for her.

And through her, all of us can see the premonition and the preview for our own fate, that is our salvation and the eternal life we can find only in the Lord alone. Mary showed unto us how all of us ought to believe in the Lord, not just in externals and appearances alone, but also deep in the heart and through concrete actions and devotions, by the outpouring of our love and our care for those who are less fortunate and those who are unloved around us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what Jesus meant when He told the young man in the Gospel today, of what he needed to do in order to fully follow the Lord in all of His ways. The young man had fulfilled and followed the whole laws of Moses, obeyed the commandments that God had given His people, but yet, he still had that question burning inside of him, as he felt that he still lacked something in him.

And that is because he was still not truly having the Lord inside of him. He has done all the laws and obeyed all the commandments, but do you know that it is possible for one to obey the laws and commandments of God and yet have no God in them? Of course the young man did not do so badly as that. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done exactly that.

These people obeyed the Law and appeared to follow the commandments of God, appearing pious and devout while at the same time having no love for God in their hearts. It is indeed possible for this to happen, as doing them as a routine and doing them genuinely with true love and devotion for God are two sides of the same coin. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law did theirs as a routine, and also as a means to garner favour and popularity with the people instead of for the Lord as the Law had intended.

And thus, this is where we should look up to Mary as our example. She placed her full trust in the Lord, even when she knew that the path forward for her would not be an easy one. She let the Lord to bring her to where He wanted her to be. And as the mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord, she devoted herself entirely to Him, giving Him the love that all mothers ought to give their children and even more.

Imagine the pain and sorrow she must have faced while following her Son through all the challenges and the difficulties He faced, and more than all these, was when He walked through the way of the Passion, carrying and bearing His cross through Jerusalem and up the hill to Calvary, where He was crucified, suffered and died for the sake of all.

Yet, through all these, Mary remained faithful and stayed truly faithful to the mission which God had entrusted her. And thus, she became our guiding light, the beacon to lead us to her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through her we can find the best way that leads directly to God and to His salvation. As she was free from the abominable effects of sin, thus it was befitting for her to also escape the sting of sin, that is death.

Yes, we mankind have sinned before God, some small while others had bigger sins. But nevertheless, all of us have disobeyed God and refused to walk in His ways, resulting in sin that leads eventually to death. Yet, our Lord Himself by His glorious resurrection from the dead had shown us that there is a way out of death, that is if we are all faithful to God, and this is affirmed further by the example of Mary, who was brought into the heavenly glory, free from sin.

By sharing in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ through baptism, all of us have been freed from the taint of our original sins. And if we are to believe in Him with all of our heart and devote ourselves completely to Him, then we too shall share the joy of Mary, the joy of the Assumption, as the Lord Himself has promised that all of His faithful ones will not suffer eternal death, but instead receive the eternal life and glory promised to all of the holy people of God, to be forever with Him in heaven.

May the Lord help us, through the guidance and the intercession of His blessed mother Mary, the role model that He had set up for us, so that through her we may be better able to find our way to Him, and thus receive the eternal life and inheritance He has allotted for us all. May God bless us all, and let us all ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, assumed in glory to heaven, to pray for us all at all times. Amen.

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Sunday, 14 August 2016 : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we celebrate together the great feast and solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the glory of Heaven, a great occasion instituted and declared as a dogma of the Faith, by the holy and pious Pope Pius XII in the year 1950, just about a century after another dogma declared the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Immaculate Conception refers to the fact that Mary was prepared beforehand by God to be special, to be beyond and above all other men and women, in that she was conceived without any taints of original sin, which has tainted all other mankind ever since sin entered into the hearts of men since the days of Adam and Eve and their disobedience.

Understanding what Immaculate Conception is, and what the meaning of the Assumption is, tied with the role that Mary played in the whole plan of God’s salvation of mankind is important if we are to appreciate how significant the things that we are celebrating today are. And as Christians, truly, we have to appreciate what Mary as the mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, had done.

The Assumption refers to the moment when Mary was taken up into heaven and did not suffer a bodily death on earth. Our fellow brethren in the Eastern Orthodox Church had a similar belief in what is called the Dormition of the Theotokos, as in their tradition, Mary as the mother of God fell into a deep sleep at the end of her earthly life and was taken up into the glory of heaven.

But all these speak about the same thing, that the mother of God did not suffer from an earthly death of the body, but instead was taken up directly by God into the glory of heaven. And lest all those who misunderstood the intention of this event and those who misunderstood the role of Mary complained that we glorified her too much or even accused us of making a deity or a goddess out of her, then we should know more about how Mary is special and so important in the role she played in ensuring our salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we look at the readings of the Sacred Scriptures today, we should see how many of them speak about the Ark of the Covenant of God. It was told in our first reading, from the Book of Chronicles, about the moment when king David wanted to transfer the Ark of God, or the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem.

Festivities, songs and dances were prepared, and a grand welcome was planned to bring in the Ark of the Covenant into the city. And why is that so? Because the Ark of the Covenant is a grand golden vessel containing the two slabs of stone upon which God Himself had touched and on which He had written the Law and the Covenant which He had established with His people. It is a representative of God’s very Presence in this world.

But how does that then relate to Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ? That is because if we know Who Christ is, then certainly we can make that clear link between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant. Yes, Mary indeed is also the Ark of the Covenant, as she bore within her the New Covenant of God with mankind, that is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world in order to save the world and right all the wrongs and faults which was in this world. Mankind had erred and through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, they had brought the sundering and the separation between us and God. According to St. Paul, through the act of one man, the whole race of men had been brought low by sin and had to suffer and die. But through the act of another Man, they all have been brought into a new life in God.

And that Man was Jesus Christ, the One Who had been born through the virgin, Mary, His mother, that by His works, He may bring all mankind back into the loving embrace of God. Through Jesus, a new covenant between God and mankind had been established, while the old covenant had passed away. The old covenant God made with mankind had expired and been replaced anew with one that will last forever.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not the same as the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first place, we are not making Mary to be a goddess or a deity on her own right. Jesus ascended by His own power and might, but Mary was brought up by God into heaven through His will to grant her the singular grace to escape the snares of death. She alone among all mankind not to suffer death.

And why is this so, brethren? That is because as the vessel bearing the Lord of life and He Who have mastered and conquered death, it does not seem appropriate if then His own mother would succumb to it, as death is the consequence for sin, and for someone who has been conceived without the taints of original sin, that is the blessed mother of our Lord, Mary, it is appropriate that our Lord rewarded her with such a privilege.

But in the end, how are all these relevant to us, brothers and sisters in Christ? It is because we know for sure that Jesus our Lord would not let His mother to suffer death or in any sense, any form of earthly and bodily decay, so thus He will also endeavour to bring us all into the salvation and liberation which He alone can bring unto us. For in Mary we have seen the fullness of God’s faithful promises to us mankind, that He will deliver us all from the snares of sin and from the sting of sin, that is death.

Yet, all these will also require our dedication and commitment. We cannot truly receive the fullness of God’s promise and God’s salvation if we ourselves are the ones who place the barriers and obstacles on our path to attain God’s mercy and grace. God offers us His mercy and forgiveness freely, but we shall find that we are ourselves our greatest enemy. It is our reluctance, our lack of desire to be forgiven, that lack of the sense of regret for our sins that have caused us to remain trapped within that quagmire of sin.

And lastly, we have that one great helper and a source of inspiration to depend on, as we make this journey of faith towards God. Mary herself is our greatest help and our great protector before her Son, our Lord. She is in heaven, interceding for our sake daily, praying for us and for all the beleaguered children of God, whom God had entrusted to her care from the cross.

On this day of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us renew our devotion to the Lord our God through His blessed mother Mary, who has shown us the way forward, by following her examples, faith and piety that we too may receive the same glory which had been accorded to her. We too shall share in the joy of heaven and in the eternal life promised by God to all of His faithful ones. All that we need to do is to really devote ourselves, our time and our efforts in order to serve the Lord our God and follow Him with all of our strength.

May God bless us all and keep us, and may His mercy be poured down upon us, and through His blessed mother Mary, whom we remember today in her glorious Assumption into heaven, let us all look up to her as the great model for our own, and thus we will be more able to proceed forward to the goal of our life, that is to be reunited with God, our loving Lord and Creator at the end of it all. Let us all seek the Lord through Mary, His beloved mother. Mary, Blessed Mother of God assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.

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Sunday, 7 August 2016 : 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of Pope St. Sixtus II, Pope and Companions, Martyrs, and St. Cajetan, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the message of the Holy Scriptures is very clear and vivid, telling us all about faith, the true faith which all of us ought to have for the Lord our God, just as our father in faith, Abraham, had that great faith and commitment for the Lord. Faith is not just about saying that we believe in the Lord or making empty promises and dedications, but instead, is a living and active commitment.

In the first reading today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, the Lord made it clear to His people that He has established that covenant with their ancestors, and He will stand by it, so long as they themselves also show the same faith and commitment to the same covenant. Otherwise, if they are unfaithful, then they shall have no part in the inheritance and in the greatness that God had promised those who keep their part of the covenant.

In the Gospel today, Jesus our Lord spoke to His disciples about the parable of the five wise women and five unwise women, as well as the parable of the faithful steward and the unfaithful and wicked steward. In both these occasions, we clearly see that there is a choice for us to pick from, either for us to be faithful to the Lord in His ways, and be ever prepared and be ready to welcome the Lord when He comes and prove our faith to Him, or for us to ignore Him and not doing what He has asked us all to do.

Indeed, it is much easier for us to follow the second path, that is not to do what the Lord had asked us to do, ignore His missions and ways, and continue on with what we and the world think is right. But such a path may lead us into the wilderness of the darkness of the world, and thus we may be lost, and forever lost indeed from the guidance and the light of God.

The devil and all of his allies are not willing to see us prosper and be happy in our saved state in the Lord. They would not stay silent and do nothing while we go on towards our salvation and eternal life in God. Instead, they will do all that they can in order to disrupt us, distract us and pull us away from the way to God, and bringing upon us many temptations and lies, they hope to lure us into our downfall, that we may fall together into oblivion with them.

But we are far better than that, brothers and sisters in Christ, if we look at the examples of Abraham, our father in faith as told by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews, whose life was wholly and completely dedicated to the Lord our God. He was a rich and influential man who lived in the region far away from the land now known as Israel, but God called him one day and he heeded the call, leaving behind everything he knew of and abandoned his past life, and with all of his belongings, travelled to where God had led him to.

And in times of difficulty and uncertainty, God stayed with him, and he also stayed faithful to God. When it was asked by God that he should sacrifice to Him his own beloved son, Isaac, who was none other the son whom God had promised him, Abraham did not hesitate, and he went up the mountain to sacrifice his own son, only to be stopped by God, Who had seen his great and undying faith, and thus blessed him all the more.

The example of Abraham, our father in faith served us in the sense that through him we see and we have a witness of how God rewarded His faithful servants. God blessed His servants, from Abraham to Isaac, from Isaac to Jacob, and then to Moses and the judges, and king David and Solomon the faithful ones, and many other good servants, prophets and all those who kept their faith in the Lord.

But those who had rejected Him or ignored His warnings, had nothing other than contempt and condemnation. Those wicked ones refused to obey the Lord and they had had their fill. They will face the final judgment and receive eternal damnation as their share, since while God had given them many opportunities and even blessed them profusely, they still refused to acknowledge His love and instead betrayed Him for the pagan idols and their sinful ways.

Then how is this relevant to us? Let us ask ourselves then, are we following the examples of Abraham, our father in faith, or do we follow instead the examples of the wickedness of the people of Israel over the ages? Do we follow their rebelliousness and refusal to obey the Law of the Lord instead of the faithfulness of the prophets and the servants of our Lord?

All of us have a choice, and this choice is a very important one indeed, for what is at stake is none other than the fate of our very own souls. Do we choose to be like the wise women and the faithful steward who did all they can in order to prepare themselves to welcome the Lord and His coming? Or do we rather choose to be like the unwise women and the wicked and lazy steward who were lazy and were rather distracted with merrymaking rather than obeying their Master?

Let us all understand the importance of this matter, especially with regards to the time and opportunities that we have in this life. If we think that we can delay and wait for the time when we will finally change our ways, then know that God is our Master and He is the Master over all of our lives. He alone knows when our earthly life will come to an end, not us.

There are many things that we can control in our life, however we have no control over our life. We cannot extend our lives longer than it has been decreed by the Lord. If we wait until this time is up, then we have no more chance for ourselves. Let us ask ourselves, would we rather live in the eternal glory of God while at the moment suffering temporarily the persecution and the challenges by the world? Or would we rather live for the moment, but then forsaking the chance at eternal glory?

May God help us to discern our path well, that we may eventually be able to find our way to Him, and not to be distracted and be lost in the darkness. May the Lord help us to find our way to Him, and may He bless us in this forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 31 July 2016 : 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Sunday, we heard a very strong theme in the Scripture Readings, which told us about the impermanence of all things. Beginning from the Book of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth, the one speaking in the Book told about the uselessness of and meaninglessness of the many things which we have in life.

And this ties in nicely with what we heard in the Gospel passage today, where our Lord Jesus Himself spoke to His disciples about the cautiousness that people should adopt in the way of their life, lest they be trapped into the trap of human greed and pride. The parable which Jesus told His disciples, reflected clearly this warning, should any of us fall into the temptations of worldly pleasures and desires.

In that parable, Jesus spoke about a rich man who had many possessions, barns after barns of crops and the results of bountiful harvest, which he stored until they were all in full capacity. And he planned to tear those barns down and create even bigger barns so that he might accumulate even more crops, grains and thus wealth. And thus he in his moments of pride and self-praise thought that he would gain even more and became greater, but he forgot that he is not the master of his life.

Indeed, all of us, each and every one of us are accountable to the One Who is the only Master of all our lives, the Lord and Master of all. He alone has the jurisdiction and power over us, over our life which we have no control over. And yet, many of us unfortunately fell into the thinking that we have that illusory degree of control, and thinking that we can do what we like with our lives because we should get what we want in this life.

But in case we think in that manner, then we should know that such a way of thinking is mistaken. Let us just ask ourselves, how often is it that we go out of our way to seek for more things in this world which satisfy our wants and our ego? How many of us spend much time just so that we may gain more of the wealth of the world for its various reasons?

Indeed in this world there are uses for our possessions and our wealth. We do use them for a variety of purposes, and in many cases, even for good purposes. But when that becomes an addiction and a pursuit of the flesh, then it is where the pursuit of more worldliness becomes our greatest obstacle on this path in which we are walking towards God now.

We are all mortals, all of whom live at the mercy and at the will of God. It is God Who gave us life and it is God again Who will take it back, when He calls us all to return to Him, and receive the judgment, whether we are worthy to receive His promised glory, or if we are unworthy and thus should be cast out into the utter darkness and eternal suffering in hell.

This is the fact that many of us are unaware of. We continue our pursuit of wealth, fame and human pride, satisfying our ego and wants, but at what price? Are all these going to be any help for us at the end? Just a gust of wind, a bonfire of flames, the shaking of the earth, the power of rust and other worldly forces, and in the blink of an eye, all of these may perish.

If we put our trust in these perishable things, then are we not then like those whom the Lord mentioned in another parable, that we built our houses upon the weak foundations of sand? One moment and everything may just come tumbling down. That is how meaningless and useless it is for us to be so preoccupied with worldly things that do not last, that we end up forgetting about our true goal in life, that is the Lord our God.

If we put our trust in God, we surely will not be disappointed, for God Himself is forever faithful to His people. And to all those who keep their faith in Him, He will also show His grace and love. And that was what exactly happened to the great saint whose feast happened to be on this day as well, the great founder of the Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuit order, that is St. Ignatius of Loyola.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was born into a Spanish noble family, a family of high esteem and prestige, of high social status and expectation. And as a member and heir of that family, he was brought up in a life of privilege, and grew up aspiring for greater honour and glory for himself. And thus he became a knight and went through battles after battles seeking greater glory for himself.

But during one of the battles, at the siege of the castle called Pamplona in northeastern Spain, he was injured and therefore was left out of much of the battle. And at that time, he had a revelation and received the calling from God which changed his life forever. From then on, he devoted himself to a new cause, one that was far more worthy than what he did previously.

Instead of seeking personal glory and honour, St. Ignatius of Loyola from then on sought to bring forth the greater glory of God, as shown in his personal motto, which is also the motto of the Jesuits, that is ‘Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam’ or ‘For the Greater Glory of God’. It was no longer human glory and worldly desires that St. Ignatius of Loyola sought for, but instead the true treasure that can be found in God alone.

And when he gathered together like-minded people, he helped to establish one of the most influential and largest contributor to the efforts of the Church in combatting and countering the terrible heresies and damages of the so-called Protestant ‘reformation’. In the Counter-Reformation, St. Ignatius of Loyola and his Jesuit order were often at the forefront of the effort to reclaim many souls back for the Lord.

St. Ignatius of Loyola and many others who have followed in his footsteps have made their choice, to abandon behind the worldly desires of the flesh, and to take up their crosses and follow the Lord their God. Shall we all also follow the same then? Shall we not also reject the temptations of the devil, who tempted us with the temptations of pleasure and flesh to distract us from finding our true treasure in God?

May the Lord help us in discerning our path and help strengthen our faith, so that we may devote ourselves more to the Lord, and commit ourselves thoroughly to His ways. May He bless our endeavours and may He strengthen us always, be our Guide and help us to reach Him at the end of our journey. May St. Ignatius of Loyola also be our intercessor and be our inspiration on how we ought to live our lives. For the greater glory of God. Amen.

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Sunday, 24 July 2016 : 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the Lord Who is calling us to His mercy and love. He calls us all into the tender care of His mercy, and showed clearly His desire to embrace all of us, welcoming us and wanting to forgive us from our sinfulness and from all of our wicked ways. But all of these will require from us, a strong commitment and hard work.

How is this so? Let us all look at the Scripture readings of today one by one, and then we will understand why I mentioned that God is merciful, and yet He is calling us to make the effort to embrace His mercy and love, or else we shall perish. In the first reading today, we heard the story from the Book of Genesis where Abraham had a conversation regarding the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the fate of the people who lived in them, both the righteous and the wicked alike.

In order to understand this, we have to understand what had transpired at that time, the events and occasions that led up to that conversation between God and Abraham. The people living in the land where Abraham was still believed in the pagan gods and worshipped the idols, and they did not know of the Lord Who is their God and Creator. But the people living in the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were committing even more wicked things which were abhorrent in God’s sight.

And they did not repent from their sins, but committed even more horrendous and abominable sins such as prostitution, irregular and unnatural sexual and extramarital relationships, and many other deeds of debauchery and wickedness which were unwelcome and disgusting in the sight and presence of God. And hence God wanted to wipe Sodom and Gomorrah, together with all who live in them, out of the face of the earth.

But Abraham, knowing that his cousin Lot, whom he knew and counted as belonging among the righteous, stayed in the city of Sodom with his family and all of his possessions, he asked God for mercy and for Him to stay from His anger, for the sake of the righteous and just ones who were living amidst all the wickedness and the darkness of the people.

And although God promised Abraham that He would not destroy the cities for the sake of fifty, or forty-four, or forty, or thirty, or twenty or ten righteous ones who lived in them, but in reality, if we asked, why then God still destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, then the answer lies in the fact that not even ten people could be found to be righteous and just in those cities.

And we know how difficult it is to walk in the path of God, when the aftermath of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah told us about what happened to the wife of Lot. While Lot and his family was being rescued by the Angel sent by God, she stopped and turned his eyes to look back towards the city. We may not be sure why she did so, but it was likely that she herself had been lured info the temptation of the life as it was in those cities, and she was reluctant to leave them behind.

And we should ask ourselves whether we are guilty of the same as well. In many occasions, I am sure, it is difficult for us to turn our back to the pleasures and the good things which this world is offering us. It is not easy for us to resist the temptation and the pull, all the offerings and the sweet lies through which the devil and all of his forces are marshalling against us in trying to lure us away from God’s salvation.

And here, it is where all of us have been revealed what we should do in the case that we face such temptations and troubles. We are indeed weak, and our flesh are weak. Our flesh and the connection these have with the world weaken our resolve and our ability to live faithfully in the presence of God. But what seems to be difficult and impossible for us will truly become possible if only that we know how to put our trust in the Lord our God.

In the second reading, St. Paul in his letter and epistle to the faithful in the Roman city of Colossae, he spoke to them regarding baptism in the Lord, and how through that baptism, all of the faithful had been made to be sharers in the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And by sharing His death, all of us have also died to our past lives, to our past sinfulness and disobedience, and a new life has been granted to us.

Yes, a new life graced and blessed by God. It is a new life where we share in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord has conquered sin and death, and through His glorious resurrection from the dead, He had broken the chains that held us down and kept us imprisoned and enslaved to the darkness of this world. But the sad reality is that, even though all these had been done for our sake by the Lord, but many people still refused to believe in Him.

In the Gospel, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, and Jesus told them how they should pray, in the way that is now well known as the Lord’s Prayer, the Pater Noster or our Father, for indeed, that prayer is the perfect prayer taught to us by Jesus, a prayer of perfect harmony and surrender to God, a prayer of thanksgiving and glorification of God, a prayer of petition and desire for forgiveness and conversion of the heart.

The core of the problem with us all is that many of us do not know how to pray, and instead of genuine prayer, that is communication between us and God, we become demanding and wanting, thinking that God is a solution to all of our problems. Indeed, if we misread the intention of today’s Gospel, we may think that we just need to ask and God will provide us with all that we want. But that is not what God wants us to know.

Rather, God wants us to put our trust in Him, and leave behind our old ways, where we put our trust in our human desires and wants, in our attachments to the world and the material goods of the world that do not fully satisfy our true needs. He wants us to look for Him, to search for Him, to grab at Him and reach out to Him, by opening up our hearts and reaching out to Him, that He may find us and we may find Him.

For many of us, our spiritual and real relationship with the Lord our God has been distant or even nonexistent. We do call ourselves Christians, but do we mean what we said? Do we mean it when we say that we believe in God? If we do believe in Him, then why do our actions and words prove to be otherwise? Are we trying to bring scandal upon our Lord’s holy Name?

It is often that we are afraid to seek the Lord, even when we need His help. It is because we often have that misconception that our Lord is an angry and fearsome God, Who is to be feared and He will not tolerate any misdeeds. As a result, we are scared to approach Him when we have done something wrong, and indeed, through our sins, we have done Him wrong.

But we cannot be like that. We cannot be so fixated on our fears that we draw away from the Lord and be scared to approach Him. We cannot be hesitant either, or we will not be able to place our focus and our trust on the Lord, and then we shall lose our way and be distracted into false ways and risk damnation and downfall into the depths of hell.

We have understand that God loves us all, and by no means that He will reject us without reason. We have no reason to fear Him or to go away from Him just because we are afraid of His anger. God will forgive us but do we ourselves want to be forgiven? Or are we the ones who are actually the greatest barriers of our own salvation? Often times we do not realise that we are the ones who are most responsible in making it difficult for us to embrace God and His salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all commit ourselves anew to the Lord, our loving God and Father. Let us all not be fearful but instead be willing to change our ways for the better, changing from our disobedience to our renewed obedience to the Law of God. Let us all be faithful disciples and followers of our Lord from now on, and no longer live in sin, but from now on living with zeal and faith for our Lord.

May God forgive us our sins, and may we ourselves open our hearts and ask Him to be forgiven for our faults and trespasses. May all of us come to the realisation that without real and genuine effort at conversion and changing our ways, we cannot come closer to God and reach the throne of His infinite mercy and love. Let us not be like Lot’s wife who wavered and turned back at the moment of her salvation, but let us be courageous and step forth into the path that God had prepared for us. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 17 July 2016 : 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the message from the Holy Scriptures, about firstly how God appeared to Abraham and his wife Sarah, to reveal to them the promise of His covenant with Abraham, that is the coming of the promised son, which both Abraham and Sarah had awaited for a very long time, for they were barren and without child.

In the psalm today we heard about the virtues and qualities of those who obey the Lord, walking in His ways and listening to all of His will and commandments. We heard how those who have been blameless and true to the Lord shall be blessed and they shall receive great rewards for that faith. Abraham himself was an example of this, and he has been blessed beyond mankind’s reckoning, becoming the father of many nations as God had promised him.

In the second reading, we heard from St. Paul who told the faithful in the city of Colossae in Greece, about the Lord Who have revealed His will to the faithful ones, and those to whom He has been willing to show His grace, He shall bring them to the place which He had reserved for them. But at the same time, St. Paul also spoke to the people of Colossae about the suffering which he had endured and would have to endure even more for their sake.

And finally we should link all of these to what Jesus said to His Apostles James and John when they asked for Him for a great favour, the favour of being granted the place of honour at the sides of the Lord Himself. The Lord rebuked them for not knowing what it was they were asking for when they asked Him for such a favour. And God revealed to them that just as St. Paul had mentioned that suffering is part of his faith and mission, the Apostles too would endure suffering, the same suffering which Christ Himself had suffered.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, what does all the Scripture readings today seem to convey to us about? They seem to have numerous messages intended for us. But in fact all of them had one key core message in common. That those who are faithful to God, who are faithful and true in their actions, words and deeds shall be blessed and they shall receive the rich graces and blessings from God, while those who are not faithful and who prefer wickedness shall be cursed and be cast out from God’s presence and fall into the damnation of hell.

And the way and the path of the Lord is not going to be an easy one, as those who have gone before us and persevered in that path before us can show us. Abraham had to endure many sufferings and trials, and he left behind his families, his relatives, all those whom he knew, his nation and his homeland behind to follow the Lord, and he braved through all the difficult times, famines and even refuge in Egypt, conflict between his family members and others. And yet, to the end, Abraham remained truly faithful.

Many other faithful servants of God endured great challenges and suffering. Moses endured rejection and ridicule by the people of Israel, while the Pharaoh and the Egyptians would have sought for his death. He had to endure the countless complaints and unfaithfulness of the Israelites, who went to the pagan gods and rebelled when they faltered in their faith and chose rather to follow the way of the world.

The prophets like Elijah and Elisha also faced many difficulties, as were Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. All of them faced those who refused to listen to them, and these also persecuted them, as they saw them either as nuisance or as a threat to their own worldly power and influence. And therefore, these people also rejected the Lord when He came to them, willing to help them and to absolve them from their sins.

All these had to do with the fact that it is difficult for us to resist the temptations of the world. There are many good things in this world, and there are many of these that will threaten to sway us and to pull us away from our way towards the Lord. But there are things which we can do in order to resist that pull, and to turn back towards the Lord, being obedient once again to His laws and ways.

We have to learn to listen to the Lord and be obedient to Him in all things, so that if we are faithful to Him, we will not suffer the consequences of the disobedience caused by sin. And all of these require sacrifice and commitment. It is not a simple matter of just claiming that we are faithful in word alone, but in all that we do, in how we interact with our fellow men and women, we must show that genuine love and commitment to love and be caring towards one another, just as God has loved us.

Let us all devote ourselves anew and let us change our ways. If we once have hated and filled ourselves with wickedness, let us all now change these to righteousness and grace, doing what is good and doing what we can to help one another, especially those who are weak, downtrodden, hungry and rejected by others. May God help us in our journey and strengthen us all in our faith. God bless us all. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 July 2016 : 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard the story of the Good Samaritan from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who told this story to His disciples and to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who were following them on their journey. This story is the perfect story to tell us about how not to be prejudiced and be bigoted in our life, and it also showed us all what we all need to do as Christians.

The story of the Good Samaritan need to be understood in the context of the historical and the socio-political situation at the time, when the people of Israel, the descendants of the kingdom of Judah lived in the southern portion of Israel known then as Judea, centred around Jerusalem, and the northern approaches and regions known as Samaria, inspired from the ancient capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, which had been destroyed by the Assyrians, and had been repopulated by the Canaanites who were the neighbours of the Israelites.

Thus, the Jews always looked at the Samaritans with suspicion and contempt, as they deemed those Samaritans to be pagans and unworthy of God’s salvation. It was such that if we read the story of how Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman by the well, that the Jews commonly did not speak or communicate at all with the Samaritans, and less still to deal with them in any matter.

But they too are rightful children of God, and just as all of us the Gentiles, to whom the word of the Lord in the Gospel should also be preached to. They too believed in God, but they had no guide or prophets to help them, until the Lord Himself came to them and showed them the way forward. And when He came to tell them the truth about the salvation which He offered for all those who were willing to listen to Him and to follow Him, they did as what the Lord had asked them to do.

Even when the Lord called, they responded with faith and embarked on the journey to salvation. They followed the Law, even though their own way, and they repented with sincerity, opening their hearts and welcoming the Lord to their homes, even as the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law rejected Jesus and His teachings, opposed Him and made His works and ministry very difficult.

The prejudice against the Samaritans by the Jews is something which we ourselves often have done in our own lives, in our own communities and societies, and even within our own families and within our own circle of friends. Let us all ask ourselves, how many of us have not ever been biased against another person? It is our innate human nature that we tend to compare, and we compare many things indeed, from our appearances, and then to our money, wealth and possessions, and then many more.

We compare against each other, and when we do not have something, then we become jealous and we have that tendency to also desire what we do not have. And when we have something which others do not have, then we start to be proud and gloat at others who do not have them. And that is when we start looking down on others and then ostracise them or treat them badly as what the Jews had done when they looked down on the Samaritans.

What Jesus our Lord showed in that story of the Good Samaritan is not a case example to discredit or to shame the Jews, and neither was it an example used to praise the Samaritans without reason. It is a story to show us all the example of Christian love which each and every one of us should be doing, and the fact that a Samaritan showed that kind of love to the man who was robbed and left to die, while the supposedly pious Levite and priest just walked past the man, told us volumes that we should not judge a book by its cover.

All of us should not just profess an external faith in God without true love and commitment for Him. For us to truly be able to commit to Him, we need to give our all, to love Him as the commandment said, that we ought to love our God with all our heart, with all our might, and without any hesitation so that in all things we say and do, we will always show that love and devotion for Him, and be able to commit ourselves thoroughly to Him with all sincerity.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Scriptures today, we have also heard the words of encouragement from God that all those who devote themselves to His cause will receive empowerment and strength, and God will be their strength amidst the challenges and troubles of this world. He will stand by our side through all of those challenges. If we are faithful to His Law, obey them with our heart and sincerely commit ourselves, then we will be blessed and we will receive grace from the Lord.

God has given us so much love, that He even has given us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord to be our Saviour and salvation. Is it not right that we should return the same love to Him? Is it not right then that we should also love all those whom He had loved without reservation? God did not discriminate with His love, and His love was given equally to all, Jews and Samaritans alike, Jews and Gentiles alike.

Today we celebrate the occasion of Bible Sunday, the commemoration of the Book of the word of our Lord, through which we have received the Good News of God’s salvation, the call for us all to be redeemed from the darkness and the sins that have enthralled us for many ages. And we are the messengers and heralds of that same Gospel which the Apostles and the disciples of Christ had persevered so hard for during those trying times, preaching the word of God to the nations.

And we have therefore the obligation and duty to reach out to all the peoples of all the nations. Jesus our Lord gave one last and the most important commandment of all when He was about to depart from this world into His heavenly glory. And that command is for all of us Christians to become the messenger of His Good News, the bearers of the truth of His Gospels, and bring all the peoples of all the nations into the loving embrace of God through baptism in the Holy Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Are we all able to commit ourselves to love both God and our fellow brethren? Are we all able to devote ourselves anew to God in all of our actions and dealings? Let us all reflect on this, and seek to change ourselves for the better. We have to help each other in our journey to the Lord, and we have to keep one another in mind, even as we go forth in this journey of our faith. Let us not leave anybody in the darkness, but endeavour as much as possible that all of us may find justification in God through our living devotion.

May God enlighten our minds and our hearts through the regular reading and understanding of the Holy Scriptures, and let us all also seek greater understanding by seeking more guidance from the Church, and drawing from the traditions of our Faith, so that having the word of God inside each and every one of us, we may be awakened to the reality of the state of our souls, and therefore do our best to attain salvation in God, by practicing what the Lord our God had given us in His laws and commandments. May God help us and preserve us, give us courage to live our lives with full faith, from now on and till forevermore. Amen.

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Sunday, 10 July 2016 : 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Luke 10 : 25-37

At that time, a teacher of the Law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the Scripture? How do you understand it?”

The man answered, “It is written : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.”

The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.”

“It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way, and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.”

“The next day he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.'” Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”

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Sunday, 10 July 2016 : 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (Second Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Colossians 1 : 15-20

He is the Image of the unseen God, and for all creation He is the Firstborn, for in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible : thrones, rulers, authorities, powers. All was made through Him and for Him.

He is before all and all things hold together in Him. And He is the Head of the Body, that is the Church, for He is the First, the First raised from the dead that He may be the First in everything, for God was pleased to let fullness dwell in Him.

Through Him God willed to reconcile all things to Himself, and through Him, through His Blood shed on the cross. God establishes peace, on earth as in heaven.

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Sunday, 10 July 2016 : 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Bible Sunday (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green

Psalm 68 : 14 and 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36ab and 37

But I pray to You, o Lord, at a time most favourable to You. In Your great love, o God, answer me with Your unfailing help. In Your mercy, o Lord, give me a good answer; in Your great compassion, turn to me.

But I myself am humbled and wounded; Your salvation, o God, will lift me up. I will praise the Name of God in song; I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.

Let the lowly witness this and be glad. You who seek God, may your hearts be revived. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise those in captivity.

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. The children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His Name will dwell in it.

Alternative Psalm

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 11

The Law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

They are more precious than gold – pure gold of a jeweller; they are much sweeter than honey which drops from the honeycomb.